Just the Beginning
by Ayame4679
Summary: A series of one-shots that take place shortly before HTTYD2, showcasing Hiccup and his life on Berk. The creation of his fire-sword, his flight suit, his map, and other small adventures are explored in these brief snapshots featuring the new world of dragons and Vikings!
1. Braids

**(A/N: Hopefully this is acceptable for you all o.o Granted these are all based from my imagination - just until Dreamworks starts touching on these small details in the third season of the TV show when it's released!)**

The horizons of Berk were brightening into a light blue as the sun crept past the skyline, signaling the start of another calm day. Astrid flew past the numerous sea stacks that she'd grown so used to seeing jutting out of the ocean, letting Stormfly navigate their way across the sky as the Nadder tracked down Hiccup and Toothless. They always seemed to find a new place to run off to everyday, and today was no different. It wasn't a problem for Stormfly though; after a couple more minutes the dragon flew towards a small cliff at the edge of a forest, where Astrid could clearly make out two familiar figures lounging near the edge. She grinned and touched down behind them, gently hopping onto the ground. Toothless perked up and bounded towards Stormfly, briefly nuzzling Astrid on the way.

Hiccup was sitting casually against a small boulder, blankly staring out into the open view before him. She grinned at how messy his hair had gotten, the upturned and windswept locks sticking out haphazardly even from the back. She settled down next to Hiccup, not offering any words yet as she followed him in staring out into the distance. The cliff overlooked a vast and vibrant green forest underneath, the sun illuminating each treetop. Some trees were even tinged orange or yellow, offering a beautiful array of colors that was breathtaking to her. She sneaked a glance at Hiccup once more, who still seemed captivated by the view, a small smile on his face.

"How'd you find this place?" She asked tentatively, watching him shake out of his trance and finally direct those emerald green eyes in her direction. He grinned and scooted a little closer towards her, close enough that their shoulders were bumping.

"Oh you know, just flew around until something caught my eye. I really need to start mapping these places out, actually. Would help me keep track of all these new locations." Astrid grinned and playfully bumped his shoulder.

"I think that map's a good idea; with you and your terrible memory, you'd probably go to the same place over and over, thinking you discovered a new place every time without one." Hiccup smirked and lightly nudged her back.

"Ha ha, very funny." Astrid was trying her best to maintain conversation with him, but her eyes kept straying towards his erratic hairstyle. He sure must have been flying fast to have gotten that result. Hiccup eyed her suspiciously as he caught her small smile and continuous glances to something on his head.

"What? Branches or leaves in my hair?" Astrid bit her lip to keep from bursting into laughter.

"Nope, just the very fast wind when you go out flying." Hiccup groaned, running his fingers through his hair carelessly, trying to tame the stubborn locks of hair that continued to stand up in different directions.

"Speaking of fast winds, I really need to find something to solve this particular issue." He mumbled as he gestured towards his disheveled hair. "Maybe a helmet or something."

Astrid laughed and reached her hand out as well, running her hand through his hair in an effort to help. Hiccup put his hand down, letting Astrid pat down the remaining locks of hair as he continued rambling about new ideas.

"Trust me, Astrid. You don't want to be flying as fast as Toothless does with just basic clothing. I never thought the wind could hurt so much when flying at high speeds. And it gets so cold! I need to get something thicker than… this." Astrid glanced down as he pointed towards his light green tunic. It was true the fabric was pretty thin, basically a larger version of the old tunic he used to wear when he was younger. She let him chatter on as her attention drew back towards his hair. She managed to settle his hair back down to its usual style, save a few stray strands.

Her hand slowed down as she pondered an idea. After a moment's hesitation, she reached her other hand up and began braiding a small section of hair near the base of his neck. The braid ended incredibly quickly, given his hair wasn't that long, and she realized she didn't know what to secure it with. Well, improvising wasn't something she was new to; she tugged at a small piece of string from her pants and used it to begin tying the end of the braid. It was only then she realized Hiccup had stopped talking, slightly turning his head in confusion.

"Stay still." Astrid commanded firmly, Hiccup instantly freezing, the bewildered expression still on his face.

"Uh, what are you doing, Astrid?"

"I'm braiding your hair, silly."

"Why?"

"Do you need a reason for everything?" Hiccup went silent at that, not knowing how to respond. She finally put her hands down next to her, admiring the small braid she'd created. Hiccup, feeling her hands fall away, turned so that he was staring at Astrid fully, a ghost of a smile playing on his face.

"Thank you for that." He retorted dryly as he reached a hand out to release the braid. Astrid's eyes widened as she grabbed at his moving wrist, glaring at him.

"Don't you dare."

Hiccup frowned. "It feels weird!"

"Hiccup…" Astrid began warningly. Hiccup stared at her for a second longer before sighing and raising his hands in mock-surrender. He offered her a playful grin.

"Alright, for you m'lady." They shared a quick smile before Hiccup pushed himself onto his feet, helping Astrid up before turning towards the edge of the forest.

"Time to go, Toothless! Stormfly!" The Night Fury and Nadder had been chasing each other around the past few minutes and were currently resting underneath some trees lazily. At Hiccup's voice, Toothless and Stormfly both ran towards their respective riders, still somehow full of energy.

Hiccup chuckled as he scratched Toothless affectionately on the head before hopping on. Before he took off, he glanced towards Astrid who was waiting to follow.

"You know, the wind might take out the braid." Astrid smiled, shaking her head.

"Don't worry about that, we're not racing. I want that braid there all day." Hiccup sighed dramatically.

"It's as if you love watching me get made fun of!"

"No one's going to notice it, Hiccup! It's barely there! And I think it looks cute either way." Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the reassurance that no one would notice before smiling and setting off into the skies once more, Astrid close on his tail.

They settled for a slow glide back towards the Isle of Berk, fully enjoying the warm rays of sunlight and the comforting crash of the waves underneath. Too soon, they landed in the Dragon Academy, where the rest of their friends were busy preparing for the upcoming Dragon Race. Well, almost everyone – Fishlegs was seated against the inner wall of the Arena, adding to another one of his small cards that described numerous types of dragons. He kept them securely in a small pouch at the front of his belt, easily accessible for quick dragon knowledge.

The twins were too busy arguing to notice the two's appearance, busy hitting each other with their arms until their Zippleback spread their heads far enough to separate them.

Snotlout landed Hookfang in front of Hiccup and Astrid, stepping down with a grin.

"Ready for tomorrow's race? Probably not, cause Hookfang and I are going to be leaving you all in our dragon dust!" He boasted, the other teens finally noticing and crowding towards Hiccup.

"That's nice to know, Snotlout. Great to see that kind of enthusiasm." Hiccup responded sarcastically, laughing slightly. He noticed Snotlout's expression suddenly grow confused, opening his mouth to say something before Tuffnut spoke up first.

"What's that in your hair?" Hiccup instantly turned to throw a triumphant stare towards Astrid, who rolled her eyes.

"It's a braid, Tuffnut. You sound like you've never seen one." Astrid responded, exasperated.

"Did you make that for him, Astrid?" Fishlegs inquired curiously. Astrid flushed slightly but nodded.

"It doesn't look that bad, actually." Ruffnut pointed out, earning surprised looks from both Hiccup and Astrid. Ruffnut giving a compliment? That was definitely new.

"Want to braid my hair?" Snotlout crooned, sidestepping closer towards Ruffnut. Fishlegs stepped in her direction as well, eagerly adding "Or my hair!" Ruffnut gagged and backed away, her twin brother groaning in disgust.

Astrid glanced towards Hiccup, who was eyeing the scene bemusedly. "So, what's the plan?" Hiccup startled and recollected his thoughts, smiling briefly at Astrid before straightening up as he caught the rest of the group's attention.

"Alright, so here's what we need to do today…"


	2. Test Flight Part 2

**(A/N: Idk this chapter's sort of eh, I'm sorryy. I already have some other one-shots in mind, but if some of you all have a request then you can pitch the idea in a review, and I might add it to my pile of ideas if I can think of a good way to write it!)**

"It's done!" Hiccup straightened up, glad he could finally stretch out his muscles after hours of remaining hunched over his work desk. He wiped off a bit of sweat that had gathered on his forehead, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"What's done?" Hiccup jumped at the voice, turning with a start towards the door of the forge, relaxing when he noticed Astrid leaning against the frame.

"Just my new outfit. Remember when I told you how I really needed something more than just my regular clothes when I'm flying with Toothless?" Astrid nodded. "Well, now it's done! I've been up late the past couple nights adding the finishing touches!"

He stepped to the side, revealing the numerous bits of what seemed to be an outfit sprawled across the table. Astrid raised her eyebrows in interest as she stepped inside, approaching the table to examine the contents more closely. She could tell the amount of work he'd put into the whole thing, black and brown colored leather intertwining with various buckles and straps.

"Impressive. Have you tried it on yet?" Hiccup grinned, shaking his head as he grasped an arm piece and slid it on, admiring how snugly it fit.

"I will now. If you'll excuse me…" He gathered the remaining pieces of the outfit before sauntering into a smaller room adjunct to the forge, separated by a red curtain. Astrid smiled and leaned against the table, scanning the room leisurely. Tools of all kinds were spread across every surface, the fire in the forge still burning strongly. She glanced down near the blazing flames and noticed Toothless napping on the ground, one eye lazily opening to stare at her. He purred quietly before closing his eyes once more, clearly having nothing better to do than wait and sleep. Her hand brushed against another leathery object, causing her to look down curiously.

Her eyes widened to see that it was actually a helmet. It used the same black and brown leather that she'd observed on Hiccup's new outfit, the only openings for the eyes. Small spikes lined down the center of the helmet, stopping before it reached the mouth area. Just like Toothless, she thought with a grin. There were two other rows that intersected the center spikes on each side, the helmet giving off a dragon-like aura even on its own.

Her attention was drawn back towards the curtain as it swept to the side and Hiccup waltzed back in. She had to admit – the outfit looked really nice on him, emanating a more warrior-like feeling. She smirked and handed him the helmet.

"Thank you, m'lady." He slid the helmet on and straightened up, waiting for Astrid's opinion. "So, how is it?"

"Not bad, dragon rider." Astrid remarked, actually quite impressed at his handiwork. Hiccup grinned and bowed dramatically in response, earning a laugh from her.

"This should definitely help against the cold and the harsh winds, no more crazy hair!" Hiccup slid the helmet off, running his hand through his hair absently to straighten it out. Astrid's eyes locked onto a certain part of his outfit as she raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"What's with those loops on the sides of your legs?" Hiccup paused, clearly thrown off by the question.

"Oh uh, that's just… there to hold things. You know, you can never be too prepared, right?" He stammered, scratching the back of his head. Astrid glared at him, slightly suspicious at his explanation but decided not to press further on the issue.

"It looks great, Hiccup. I'm proud of you. Unfortunately, I gotta go help Fishlegs with some of his dragon notecards. He wants me to make sure they look professional so he can impress Ruffnut." She rolled her eyes, throwing Hiccup a wry grin. "I'll see you later."

"Thanks, Astrid." Hiccup smiled as she leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek before heading back out the forge.

As soon as she left, he tucked the helmet under his arm and made his way over towards Toothless. "Come on bud, up and at 'em." Toothless grumbled and curled into a tighter ball, clearly having grown to enjoy the warm comforts of the fire.

"I know you'd rather be flying…" Hiccup taunted teasingly, laughing as Toothless' eyes snapped open and was instantly on his feet, bounding out the door in a flash. He followed the Night Fury outside, slipping his helmet back on before mounting the dragon and taking off towards the vast sea.

They'd only been soaring high above the clouds for a couple minutes before Hiccup got used to the new outfit, eyeing his surroundings before leaning down towards Toothless.

"Alright bud, remember the plan we talked about? Let's try it." Toothless tensed and grumbled in annoyance, clearly disagreeing with whatever his rider was thinking.

Hiccup rubbed the Night Fury behind the ears affectionately before he slid his prosthetic leg forward, activating a mechanic that fully expanded Toothless' tailfin. He knew Toothless hated using the tailfin on his own, but he wanted to have a backup in case he couldn't work the tailfin with his foot. He leaned down and pulled another lever up, locking the opened tailfin in place as he detached his foot from the saddle attachment. He paused for a moment, glancing back to make sure the tailfin remained open. Thankfully, it stayed expanded as Toothless continued his smooth glide through the sky.

"Alright Toothless, keep doing what you're doing. Just follow my lead." Hiccup yelled encouragingly before unclipping himself from the saddle, cautiously holding himself up as he gathered his breath. This was a definitely a stupid idea, but he trusted that he had built it right to work. Toothless growled in disapproval, but made no other move to stop his rider.

Hiccup stiffened, shutting his eyes under the helmet before letting himself tip over the side of the saddle, plummeting towards the ground rapidly. Toothless instinctively followed him in his descent, easily catching up to fall in sync with his rider. They had obviously free-fallen before, but this time Hiccup had something a bit different in mind. The adrenaline from the free-fall taking over, he laughed briefly before sliding his arms into the loops that lined the sides of his legs.

"Here goes nothing." He mumbled before spreading his arms, stretching out a leathery fabric that acted as makeshift wings. As soon as the wind caught onto the fabric, Hiccup was rising back towards the clouds by the updraft. Hiccup let out a small shout at the sudden movement, turning into laughter as he realized he was actually _maintaining flight_ on his own! Toothless had immediately followed suit, spreading his own wings to fall into a steady glide slightly next to Hiccup.

Hiccup felt himself begin to waver, reminding him of the other mechanic he forgot to implement. As quickly as he could, he reached over and pressed at a button near his chest, producing a small fin to pop out from his back, steadying his flight. He braced himself for something to go wrong, but grew more excited as he continued his smooth glide through the clouds.

"It's working! Oh Gods, Toothless, I'm flying!" He cried excitedly, exhilarated at the feeling. Toothless cooed happily, but his eyes were still tensely watching Hiccup for any signs of something going wrong. Hiccup felt the smile grow on his face, actually feeling like he was a dragon. He thought flying on Toothless was amazing, flying like this was _incredible_! He was so caught up in the new sensation that he didn't realize he was rapidly descending towards a small island, about to crash onto an open field. Toothless barked in alarm, snapping Hiccup out of his celebration as he noticed how quickly he was approaching the ground.

"Uh, Toothless! A little help here!" He shouted frantically, trying to maneuver himself upwards but failing. He grew more panicked, his arms flailing wildly in an attempt to slow his descent. Toothless immediately pumped his wings faster, diving towards his rider to catch him before they crashed. At the last second, the Night Fury managed to wrap his paws around Hiccup and enveloped him in his wings as they tumbled across the open field.

At the end of the rough landing, Toothless weakly released his death grip, opening his wings to let his rider get up. Hiccup stumbled back onto his feet, looking more than a little flustered as he threw off his helmet, grinning goofily at the thought that they had actually gotten through that. He began packing his "wings" back into their pockets at the side of his legs, surprised it worked better than he had planned. They hadn't died, after all!

Toothless got unsteadily back to his feet, shaking himself off before throwing a death glare at his rider. Hiccup didn't notice until he straightened back up, offering a sheepish grin at his dragon.

"Yeah, that could've gone better. But we survived, bud! We'll definitely nail it next time." Toothless snorted and responded by firmly whacking Hiccup on the back of the head with his tail, obviously annoyed. Hiccup always seemed to almost get himself killed, and he didn't like it at all.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, smiling apologetically as he glanced around. The place looked deserted; the only thing greeting them was the vast field, the grass gently swaying in the afternoon breeze. He sighed, breathing in the fresh air before putting his helmet back on, turning to reassuringly pet Toothless.

"Let's get home, bud." Toothless eyed him warily, growling quietly. "Okay, I won't do it again today. I promise." Toothless grunted and bent down to let him get back in the saddle. Hiccup chuckled at the Night Fury's protective nature before attaching his prosthetic back into the saddle, allowing him to control it once more.

As they continued their flight back, he couldn't take his mind off how amazing it felt to fly on his own. He was definitely trying that again when Toothless calmed down on another day. Practice makes perfect, right?

Wait till he showed Astrid…


	3. Inferno

**(A/N: Oh man, I was worried this one-shot would be too long but I'll just give you all it at once rather than splitting it in two! **

**And yeah sorry about the weird way I titled the last chapter [Test Flight Part 2] - it was supposed to be Test Flight 2.0 in homage to the first time Hiccup was testing out Toothless tail in the first movie, this being the second time he tested out a different form of flight. Alas, I didn't know periods didn't show on the title so it came out saying "Test Flight 20" LOL so I just changed it to Test Flight Part 2. Ah well, better than nothing!)**

"You really should get a weapon, Hiccup."

Hiccup lifted his head from his sketch to stare at Astrid in bewilderment.

"But I do have a weapon."

Astrid paused, taken off guard. "Wait, you do?"

"Sure I do. Toothless."

Astrid sighed, shaking her head. "I mean an actual weapon besides your dragon. Like mine, for example." She lifted her axe and swung it around expertly, proudly displaying it for him to see. Hiccup grinned and turned his attention back to his sketch of Toothless.

"Trust me, I can't use an axe."

"You don't have to use an axe, there are plenty of other weapons! Like a sword! Or a bow and arrow!"

Hiccup chuckled, not taking his eye off his drawing. "Can you really see me using a sword or a bow and arrow, Astrid?"

Astrid straightened up, crossing her arms with a frown. "Well, obviously not, since you've never tried them."

Hiccup didn't reply as he finished up his sketch, eyes narrowed in concentration. After a minute, he relaxed, closing his notebook and tucking it away.

"Done!"

Toothless, who had been lounging in front of the forge fireplace again, perked up at the word and nearly tackled Hiccup, nudging him eagerly. Hiccup laughed and scratched his dragon's head affectionately.

"Alright, we can go flying now." He looked up towards Astrid, who was still eyeing him sternly. He offered a playful grin as he passed by her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll think about it, m'lady. If I need to find a weapon later, I'll be sure to go to you." Astrid smiled and nodded, knowing that's all she would get out of him as she waved goodbye to the retreating duo.

* * *

It wasn't long until Toothless was flying high above the clouds, smoothly gliding above the ocean. Hiccup was laying down against Toothless' back, his hands resting behind his head. They sailed quietly for a few moments before Hiccup sat back up, taking in the scenery. They were flying over an unfamiliar patch of land, easily distinguishable with its bright red treetops. The sunlight intensified the color, gleaming brightly against the light brown terrain it grew upon.

"Hey look, another new land bud! Not that far from Berk, either!" Toothless purred in agreement. "Alright, let's circle back around towards home." Toothless nodded and began shifting to turn back towards their village.

Suddenly, a large figure darted uncomfortably close to them, startling the pair. Toothless growled in alarm as Hiccup realized it was actually a Monstrous Nightmare. What surprised him was the dark blue shade its scales were colored. He hadn't seen a color like that on a Nightmare before! He could barely admire it before the dragon shot a blast of fire in their direction.

Toothless swerved sharply upwards, dodging the blast as he roared angrily at the dragon. Hiccup felt Toothless beginning to turn in order to outfly it and resisted, holding Toothless in place. The Night Fury growled in irritation, wanting to get his rider out of danger as soon as possible.

"Wait, bud. We can't just leave like that! I've never seen a Monstrous Nightmare like this one!" Toothless huffed, not accepting that as an excuse. "Come on, bud. Let me just befriend it." Toothless grumbled as he eyed the Nightmare, who was still hissing angrily and circling the pair.

Hiccup, mind made up, steered Toothless down towards the bright red island, touching down on the beach in front of the vast forest. The Nightmare crashed down menacingly a few feet away and glared at the two. Toothless crouched down and growled warningly as Hiccup stepped off the saddle, one hand raised as he slowly approached the wild dragon.

"Easy there. I'm not gonna hurt you." Hiccup whispered reassuringly. The Nightmare seemed to calm down, quieting as he drew closer. But before he could avert his gaze and allow the dragon to accept his offer, the Nightmare's eyes shrunk back into slits as it roared and reared back to release another point blank fire blast at him. Instinctively, Hiccup ducked towards the ground as he felt Toothless dive on top of him, shielding him from the flames. Part of him worried that the flames actually hurt Toothless, but the Night Fury easily stood back up into a protective stance above him as he roared at the Nightmare. The Nightmare backed away slightly, still angered as it roared in response. Toothless immediately nudged Hiccup's side insistently as he got unsteadily to his feet. Hiccup sighed and relented, jumping onto Toothless' back and setting back off into the sky. He glanced back to see the Nightmare wasn't following, the dragon releasing one more roar before disappearing into the red-leaved forest.

* * *

As soon as they touched down into the Arena, Toothless turned to sniff his rider, examining him for any injuries. Once the Night Fury determined he was fine, he grumbled and whacked Hiccup on the back of the head with his tail.

"I'm sorry, okay? But I hadn't seen a dragon like that before!" Toothless obviously didn't care if it was a new dragon or not, still glaring at him in annoyance. The teens, who had been lazily roaming around the Arena, noticed Hiccup's appearance and gathered near him with their dragons.

"What's with Toothless?" Snotlout commented, amusedly staring at the dragon's huffy behavior.

"Just being Toothless. You wouldn't believe what I found! There was this dark blue Monstrous Nightmare that I've never seen before!" The teen's eyes widened at the exclamation, surprised.

"Woah, a blue one? We don't have one of those on Berk!" Fishlegs piped up, growing excited at the new prospect. "Did you bring it here?"

"Uh, it wasn't exactly… the friendly type." Fishlegs deflated at the response, clearly wanting to have seen the dragon.

"You couldn't tame it?" Astrid asked hesitatingly, eyeing the distressed look on Hiccup's face.

"I tried, but it didn't work. I need to find a better way to calm wild dragons than just holding up a hand, because that obviously won't work all the time." Hiccup responded, speaking more to himself than the others.

"Oh! I know the best way to befriend a wild dragon." Tuffnut exclaimed, gaining the attention of the others as they stared at him in surprise.

"You do?" Ruffnut asked in disbelief.

"Yeah! Become a dragon!" Astrid rolled her eyes as Ruffnut began arguing with her brother on how that was a stupid idea.

"I'm sure you'll find something…" Astrid began, turning towards Hiccup and pausing to see he had gone silent, staring thoughtfully at the ground. She stared at him questioningly, wondering what was going through his mind.

"Become a dragon…" Hiccup mumbled to himself before suddenly straightening and running out the Arena, Toothless close behind. The rest of the teens paused in their arguing as they watched his retreating figure.

"Uh, what just happened?" Tuffnut asked, clearly having missed something. The others shrugged, not sure either.

* * *

The next few days were uneventful, nothing exciting having happened as Astrid went to visit the forge once more. Hiccup had been there for the past 3 days nonstop, working on something. As soon as she stepped in, she froze at the bit of green gas drifting out the door.

"Hiccup, is this… Zippleback gas?" She glanced up to meet Hiccup's eyes. He was wearing his blacksmith apron, forehead damp with sweat. His eyes were shining in excitement.

"Yup! It's finally finished!" He held up a small metal contraption, one end of it looking like a dragon head. Astrid eyed it in confusion, not able to figure out what it was. Hiccup caught her expression and continued to explain.

"Well I was thinking about what Tuffnut said, about how the best way to befriend a dragon was to become a dragon. So while I obviously can't become a dragon, I figured the closest thing I could do was use its fire!" Hiccup waved away the excess Zippleback gas before clicking a button that expanded a metal skeleton of a sword that instantly ignited into flames, becoming a fire sword.

Astrid backed away slightly, eyes widening in surprise. "Wha- How did you do that?"

Hiccup clicked the button again, retracting the sword until he back to holding just the metal hilt. "So the metal part that comes out is coated in Monstrous Nightmare saliva, so all I need is to expand it and create a spark. The saliva keeps the fire going, just like on a Monstrous Nightmare's body! Oh and check this out."

Hiccup turned the metal weapon in his hand, holding it high in the air as he pressed a different button. Instantly, green Zippleback gas began spewing out of the other end, forming a small cloud the size of his hand. Before it could make contact with any of the wood or get bigger, Hiccup clicked another button that lit the gas on fire, the flame cloud instantly dissipating after it was lit. He glanced back towards Astrid, smirking at her amazed expression.

"It's how a Zippleback lights its fire. First I release some of its gas and then another button lets me light it. You _did_ say I needed a weapon, but this one should also help me calm the dragons down!" Astrid smiled, nonetheless extremely impressed. But one question was still nagging at her.

"How do you know it actually calms dragons?"

Hiccup grinned. "Only one way to find out."

* * *

Finding the red streaked island wasn't that difficult the second time as Hiccup and Toothless quietly touched back down on the quiet shores of the island. Astrid had wanted to come along, but Hiccup rejected the idea, not wanting to put her in danger – especially after his first encounter with the Nightmare. Convincing Toothless to come back here was just as difficult; he couldn't comprehend why his rider was so eager to get himself killed every chance he got.

"Never thought I'd say this bud, but let's go find ourselves an angry, hostile, wild dragon. Think it's still around here?" Toothless grunted, still reluctant to let his rider go near that dragon again. Hiccup scratched him behind the ears lightly before setting off into the forest. Toothless stayed closer to Hiccup than usual, still on edge for any possible ambushes. The red leaves from the treetops tinged the light into a subtle red shade, giving off a dream-like atmosphere.

It wasn't long before they came across a clearing, the forest still dead silent. Hiccup wandered to the center of it, glancing around through the trees for any sight of the dragon. "Hello? If you're there, come out! I just want to be friends!" A small rustle made him turn around, making out two golden eyes peering out at him from the darkness. He immediately recognized them as he stepped backwards, watching the Nightmare slowly inch out of the shadows, glaring at them threateningly. Toothless began to growl quietly, tail curling around Hiccup defensively. Hiccup reached for his sword, slowly approaching the agitated dragon like he did before.

The Nightmare reacted in the same manner it did back then, hissing as it reared back to attack. But before it could fire, Hiccup activated the fire sword, holding it in front of him as it blazed brilliantly. The Nightmare paused, clearly thrown off guard as it recognized its own fire. How was the human wielding it?

Hiccup held his stance for a moment before waving the sword slowly from the left to the right, watching the Nightmare follow his movements, seemingly entranced. He let out a small sigh of relief as the dragon calmed down, still eyeing the sword's flames. He inched forward, glad that the dragon was still making no moves to strike, until he finally was close enough to reach out and touch the Nightmare's snout. A smile spread across his face as the Nightmare purred and leaned into his touch. Toothless relaxed slightly, no longer sensing his rider in any imminent danger as he settled for eyeing the pair warily.

"There we go! Good dragon." Hiccup whispered encouragingly as he scratched the dragon under the chin gently, resulting in another happy purr from the Nightmare.

Well, his experiment was done. Hiccup straightened up, tucked away his sword, and walked back towards Toothless, hopping back on the saddle as the Nightmare watched him curiously.

"Do you want to follow us back? You can meet my friends and other dragons." The Nightmare simply titled his head. Hiccup had Toothless take off a few feet above the trees past the clearing before he glanced back down, noticing the Nightmare wasn't following.

"Maybe he wants to stay here…" Hiccup murmured thoughtfully. "We'll be back!" He called out to the dragon, who cooed in response and trotted back into the shadows of the trees. With a grin, he flew Toothless back towards Berk.

* * *

Astrid ran to Hiccup's side as he landed back in the Arena. "So what happened?" She asked as he hopped off, still breathless and a huge smile on his face. The other teens gathered around curiously, having heard from Astrid that Hiccup had made a fire sword of some sort.

"You wouldn't believe it. It worked! The sword actually helped me calm the Nightmare down to befriend it!" Fishlegs' eyes lit up at the conclusion, eyes scanning the sky eagerly.

"Did you bring it back? Where is it?" Fishlegs asked excitedly, itching to see this blue Nightmare.

"Sorry Fishlegs, but it didn't want to come back. I think it likes living there. But we can visit later and you can observe it on its island." Fishlegs nodded happily, glad he would have a chance to see it in its natural habitat.

"So where's this fire sword of yours?" Snotlout butted in, growing impatient.

Hiccup unclipped the sword from the compartment on the side of his leg and held it out, letting the teens observe it.

"Where's the blade?" Tuffnut asked, blankly staring at what seemed to be just the hilt.

"You need to activate it to bring the sword out." Hiccup began to explain when Snotlout snatched the contraption out of his hand and eyed it closely.

"Here, I'll do it!" Snotlout boasted, excited at the idea of wielding a flaming sword. Ruffnut would definitely be impressed then!

Hiccup stifled a snicker as he spoke again. "Um, Snotlout, you're holding it upside dow-"

"I know what I'm doing, Hiccup!" Snotlout interrupted, confidently pressing the first button he saw. His brows scrunched in confusion as the end of the hilt began expelling green gas that was rapidly filling the Arena.

"Wait, this looks like Barf's gas!" Ruffnut called out, staring at the green gas floating past her feet.

Hiccup slowly backed away, grabbing Astrid's hand and taking her with him until they were just outside the Arena. Toothless and Stormfly followed closely behind. The other rider's dragons set off into the air, floating a couple feet up as they watched the teens stand in a small cloud of the green smoke.

"This isn't a sword!" Snotlout cried out, offended.

"I was trying to tell you, you're holding it the wrong way!" Hiccup shouted, exasperated. "Just whatever you do, don't press-" He and Astrid flinched as a loud boom reverberated through the Arena, the smoke clearing to show the teens coughing as they waved the dark smoke away.

"… that button." Hiccup finished with a laugh.


	4. Mapping the World

**(A/N: I'm sorry, I had the worst case of writer's block for this chapter.**

**Also, I usually don't ask this but if anyone wants to, they can message me another one-shot idea for this story because I'm in some need for inspiration at the moment haha.)**

* * *

The morning breeze was lighter than usual, today merely a soft wind that gently rustled Hiccup's slightly disheveled hair. Both he and Toothless were relaxing on the edge of yet another cliff, overlooking a small tropical island below. The luscious green trees were easily visible even hundreds of feet away from where they were stationed. He sighed, leaning back into Toothless' side as he listened to the ocean waves crashing against the rocks down below.

"This place is really nice. I should bring Astrid here the next time." Hiccup mused to himself, lazily fingering a small buckle on his flight suit as he watched a small patch of clouds float by above. Toothless purred contently, sprawled out on the ground as he basked in the sun's warm rays.

"I think this is our fifth new land this week, isn't it bud?" His Night Fury mumbled a response, obviously not listening to what his rider had been saying. A recurring thought struck him, quickly evolving into an idea as Hiccup sat up, carefully eyeing the peaceful island below.

"Speaking of which, I think making a map is actually a good idea! It would help me keep track of the places we've visited. Besides, that could definitely help Berk later on when others want to travel…" Inspired, Hiccup reached under the folds of his suit to retrieve his notebook, opening it before pausing. Surely these pages weren't suitable enough to hold an entire map; he needed something a lot bigger.

With his mind made up, he sprang to his feet, impatiently nudging Toothless to get up. "Come on, we gotta get back!" Toothless grumbled in irritation, not appreciating when his naps were disrupted. Begrudgingly, the dragon stirred awake and allowed his rider to settle onto the saddle, taking off back towards their village.

* * *

Locating Fishlegs was relatively easy, as there were only two places he would be during this time of day – studying the Book of Dragons in the Great Hall or working on his little dragon fact cards in the Arena. In fact, he teen was on his way from the Hall to the Academy when Hiccup landed in front of him, spreading a bit of dust as he dismounted. Fishlegs yelped in alarm before recognizing the pair and relaxing, an eager smile on his face.

"Hey guys! Did you need something?"

Hiccup nodded happily, already knowing how Fishlegs would react when he told him his idea.

"Yeah I do, actually! Do you have a large piece of parchment paper, by any chance?" Fishlegs raised an eyebrow questioningly, prompting him to elaborate. "I'm planning on making a map of the new lands I come across and the dragons that live on them."

As he expected, Fishlegs' eyes lit up in delight, already jumping up and down in his excitement. Nodding his head feverishly, he led Hiccup towards his house, still chattering excitedly at the thought of discovering new dragons in faraway lands. Even as Fishlegs opened the door and stepped inside, he didn't let up in his rambling, leaving Hiccup and Toothless waiting at his doorstep with an amused expression.

It didn't take long for Fishlegs to burst back through the doorway, large piece of parchment paper in hand. "Please tell me when you discover a new dragon." He pleaded anxiously as he handed it over.

Hiccup smiled warmly, nodding. "Of course, thanks Fishlegs." He responded gratefully, waving goodbye as he made his way towards his own home.

Never taking his eyes off the large sheet of paper in his hands, Hiccup meandered past the worn down pathways through the village and pushed the door to his house open, engrossed in his thoughts on how he'd be able to space this map out easily. The sound of someone clearing their throat distracted him enough to finally tear his focus away from the blank sheet.

"Hey dad." Hiccup chirped cheerfully, immediately setting course for the stairs that led to his room before his dad stopped him.

"Woah there, is talking to me that boring?" Stoick joked lightly, the item in his son's hands catching his eye. "What's that you got there?"

Hiccup followed his dad's gaze to the soon-to-be map, his smile growing at the chance to spread his idea. "Well, it doesn't look like much now, but I'm planning on mapping out the places that Toothless and I come across when we go flying! Who knows, maybe this can help you one day when you need to travel to another village."

Stoick's eyebrows drew down, a slight frown making its way onto his face. "That sounds great, son." He began half-heartedly. "Although I feel you should start learning more about the village rather than running off every day… After all, it won't be long before you'll become the chie-"

"Yeah yeah yeah." Hiccup replied distractedly, clearly not having heard anything his dad just said. "I'm gonna be upstairs, you can eat first." Before he could react, Hiccup ran up the stairs, Toothless close behind. Stoick sighed, settling into a chair as his gaze lingered on the now empty area his son had just occupied.

Hiccup settled down on the floor next to his bed, spreading out the large blank sheet of paper before him. After a moment of simply staring, he reached for the charcoal pencil he picked up on the way in and drew Berk on the center of the paper. A few minutes later, he leaned back slightly, critically eyeing the shape that depicted their island. With a nod, he continued on to label the island "Berk". As he finished writing the last letter, he was struck with another idea. Going to grab his little jars of paint, he began painting the numerous dragons that inhabited Berk around the sketch of the island.

When he finally finished painting and labelling the last dragon, he straightened up, blowing out an exhausted breath. The room had gotten considerably darker as he realized it was already nightfall, Toothless curled up in his corner and in a deep sleep. It was probably best to go to sleep as well, he had his first mapping experience tomorrow morning! But before he could get ready to go to bed, another question flooded his mind. How in Thor's name was he going to map these places out accurately? He slumped back down, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. After a few moments, his eyes widened as a plan formulated in his mind, grinning as he got to his feet. It was possible, he just needed to stop by the forge and add a few things to his suit before they left in the morning. And with that, he settled on the edge of his bed, ignoring the loud creak that emanated from the worn down wood as he took off his prosthetic and the numerous bits of his flight suit. Soon enough, he was only in his basic tunic and light green pants, finally allowing him to lie down and get some rest.

* * *

A part of Astrid already knew Hiccup wasn't on the island as she strolled through the village, the morning sun still only casting a few small rays of light that illuminated her path. As she drew closer to the forge, she didn't know why she bothered to complete the trip and stick her head in; the darkened room and eerie silence devoid of the familiar clanging of a hammer was already enough to let her know he wasn't there. With a sigh, she turned back towards her house to fetch Stormfly and track those two down again.

They were flying further than usual, soaring across waters and islands that she wasn't able to recognize before Stormfly let out a squawk, dipping down from the clouds and closer to the ground – a telltale signal that she'd located the pair. She peered down to pinpoint them on yet another cliff, this one slightly more grassy than the others she'd found him on. Before they landed, she could see Hiccup bent over what seemed to be a large sheet of paper, Toothless working on his own sketch in a patch of dirt with an oversized branch.

With a grin, she hopped off of Stormfly's back, landing softly in the grass. As she made her way towards Hiccup, she paused to lightly rub the Night Fury on the head, being sure not to step on the lines he'd created from his drawing. She sat down next to him, peering over his shoulder and eyeing what he was working on. Her eyes widened as she noticed it was actually a map. The sketch of Berk and its numerous dragons immediately caught her eye as she continued scanning the rest of the paper. Aside from their island, the rest of the map was relatively blank except for one other island he'd sketched down south of Berk accompanied by some waves and a dragon. He had jotted down some notes near it, but she didn't look too closely as her gaze was drawn towards the small compass that was drawn on the side. A small smile touched her lips, impressed that he actually acted on his idea.

She glanced up to see Hiccup still intensely dividing his focus between the map and the new island below them. It was a relatively small piece of land, looking slightly barren and dull-colored compared to the other lands they'd come across.

"Is this place on the map yet?" Her words cut through the silence that had fallen over them, Hiccup diverting his attention to her as he straightened up, stretching out his arms. He threw her a wry grin.

"It will be now." Immediately after his words, he raised his right arm in front of him, flipping open a metal flap on his wrist to reveal a small compass. He spun it around experimentally, adjusting it until he made sure it was pointing in the right direction. Astrid raised an eyebrow, surprised; it would seem Hiccup had been adding on to his flight suit since the last time she saw him. She caught his glance as he bent over to point towards the small island that was already drawn underneath Berk.

"We're just a bit southeast from this island, a couple miles away."

Astrid traced the direction he indicated with her eyes, frowning slightly when she noticed how close it was to the edge of the map. Surely they couldn't fit this place within that little space. She met his gaze uncertainly, her eyes already asking the question. Hiccup merely grinned again in response, raising his right arm in front of him once again.

To her surprise, he unclipped a small opening just above where his compass was, revealing a mass of blank notebook sheets gathered together inside. Hiccup waggled his eyebrows at her expression, proud to show his new additions. Plucking out one sheet, he placed it down near the edge of the map, creating enough room to add the new land. The small piece of paper fluttered harmlessly from the light breeze under his hand, and part of Astrid wondered how he was going to manage to keep that there.

"What if that piece flies away?" She waited for another smug grin to be thrown in her direction, but instead saw a troubled expression cloud his face. He didn't know the solution to that yet. After a brief silence, she was about to tell him not to worry about it for now when Hiccup straightened, his eyes lighting up.

"Toothless! Come here, bud!" Said Night Fury perked up from his resting area next to his little drawing, instantly at his rider's side. Hiccup grinned and scratched the dragon behind the ears, holding up the sheet of paper with his other hand.

"I need you to lick the back of this for me." Toothless tilted his head, not understanding why his rider was asking such a thing, but did so anyway.

Astrid's eyes flashed in understanding as she watched Hiccup place the saliva-coated side of the paper against the edge of the map, the piece effectively sticking after a few firm presses. Hiccup grinned triumphantly, reaching for the abandoned charcoal pencil lying on the ground next to him as Toothless purred and settled into a small ball near the two, presumably taking another nap.

Now Astrid had seen her fair share of Hiccup's sketches and drawings, but she was still amazed at how effortlessly he outlined the island below them, the pencil seemingly gliding across the paper without a moment's hesitation. He didn't even pause when he transitioned to trace out what seemed to be a Thunderdrum next to the new island. Before she even asked, Hiccup spoke up, still keeping his eyes on his drawing.

"When we were flying over it this morning, I saw this green Thunderdrum circling around the island before it landed in the middle. I'm guessing it lives there." Astrid nodded, her eyes still glued to his pencil, following each new line and curve as it created the familiar shape of the dragon.

Halfway through, Hiccup paused, lifting his pencil and eyed it with a frown. Astrid watched in confusion until he suddenly leaned over and whipped out a small dagger, causing her eyes to widen. Since when did Hiccup use a dagger?

"You never told me you had a backup weapo-"Her words wavered off as she watched Hiccup proceed to sharpen his charcoal pencil before stowing it back away in another compartment on his left arm. Only then did he look up from his work, eyeing her questioningly.

"I had a backup what?" He asked casually, his calm expression turning into one of puzzlement as Astrid began to laugh.

"Do you really have a dagger on you just to sharpen your pencil?" She managed, a few chuckles still slipping out.

Hiccup stared blankly at her before a small smile formed on his face. "Why else would I need one?"

Astrid shook her head in amusement as he turned back to his drawing, easily finishing the outline of the Thunderdrum and labelling it "Green Thunder". He sat back, admiring his work with a satisfied grin.

"I think this map's coming along pretty well." Astrid piped in, lightly patting Hiccup on the shoulder.

He glanced up, the content smile still on his face. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

It wasn't long before Hiccup's map was almost bigger than him, fold over fold overlapping as he tucked it away into his notebook after each new discovery. He'd recount and display his findings to Fishlegs frequently, both sharing the same fascination for exploring and uncovering new areas and dragons. Toothless and Hiccup never seemed to tire of their numerous flights, exhilarated to encounter new skies that were not yet flown through by the pair, sighting new lands that were not yet documented. It was another one of those mornings as Hiccup sat up in bed, stretching as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. He glanced up with a grin to notice Toothless had beat him to the punch yet again, already eagerly sitting by his bedside, grasping his saddle in his mouth.

"You got it, bud."


	5. Dragon Racing

**(****A/N: I'm surprised I didn't think of this idea sooner, thank you xFaerieValkyriex for the suggestion! I hope my writing did it justicee. If anyone else has another thought for a new chapter, please don't be afraid to message it!)**

"This is so _boring_!" Snotlout groaned for the millionth time, lazily slumped against Hookfang's neck as he scuffed at the ground with his boot. As usual, none of the other teens bothered to offer him a reply, all moping in their own state of idleness. Lately, it seemed like each day melted into the next in what was a dreary and unenticing pattern: wake up, hang out at the Academy, go home, repeat.

Even the twins didn't bother to stir up another argument; the twins, who were prone to fighting even over what time of day it was, were lying on top of each respective head of their Zippleback in silence. Fishlegs was the only animated one, shuffling around eagerly as he offered to share some of his dragon knowledge – particularly to Ruffnut – only to get shut out by them all, leaving him mumbling to himself.

Astrid sighed, hands crossed over her chest in irritation as she glanced toward the bright blue sky again. Hiccup was taking especially long today for a morning flight. Knowing she needed to do _something_ to shake everyone out of their stupor, she cleared her throat. Four pairs of eyes sluggishly flicked in her direction, just barely having gained their attention.

"Okay guys, no more of all this inactivity. Like it or not, we're going to be doing something to pass the time today."

"And what would that be?" Snotlout inattentively responded, staring back towards the ground as he continued digging his boot against the stone ground, chipping away at the rock.

"I know! Let's have another trick competition! We've loved those in the past, right?" Astrid knew she sounded completely over-enthusiastic, but their lack of energy was driving her insane.

"We've done those like a hundred times." Tuffnut complained, not bothering to move from his spot on top of the Zippleback's head.

"Yeah, and Hiccup always wins those." Fishlegs piped in unhelpfully.

"Well Hiccup isn't here today, as you can see. So who knows what'll happen?" Astrid countered, voice still extremely perky.

"Bah! It's not even a competition anyways. We all know that if Hiccup isn't here, _I'm_ obviously winning. There's no one that can beat Hookfang's special move!" Snotlout replied, the boastful tone returning in his voice. And even though she'd never admit it, Astrid had never been happier to see the prideful and annoying nature Snotlout always used to carry returning from underneath that pessimistic and bored atmosphere he'd been wearing for the past couple days.

With a grin, Astrid backed away from where she stood at the center of the Arena until she was against the wall, gesturing at the open space to Snotlout. "Then by all means, you can go first."

Snotlout straightened up with a smirk, the arrogant light back in his eyes. He patted Hookfang's neck and hopped into his saddle, pausing to smile coyly at Ruffnut.

"Watch this one babe. You're not gonna want to miss this." Ruffnut dramatically gagged at the comment, but followed the rest of the teen's gaze as they shifted to watch Snotlout at the center of the Arena, mildly interested at the outcome.

"Alright, Hookfang. Let's do the Flaming Circle of Death!" Hookfang let out a growl in response, instantly covering himself in flames. Snotlout, who had been leaning forward along the Nightmare's neck as he spoke to the dragon, yelped and jumped off, the front of his clothes on fire. To the group's amusement, Snotlout squealed and ran towards the water-filled trough, diving into it head-first as he doused the flames. Shortly after, he resurfaced dripping wet and annoyed.

"Hookfang! That was too early, I was talking to you!" He cried, stepping out of the trough and wringing the water out of his clothes. The Nightmare purred in response, oblivious to her rider's irritation.

"You call that a trick? Barf can do tricks ten times better than those!" Ruffnut teased, sliding off her dragon's head and giving it a friendly pat.

"Oh yeah? Well Belch can do tricks twenty times better than Barf!" Tuffnut shot back, sitting up and hopping onto Belch's neck.

With a growl, Ruffnut jumped onto Barf's neck, shooting a glare at her twin. Almost as if in sync, the twins directed each Zippleback head into opposite directions, sending the dragon crashing to the ground.

Fishlegs somehow managed his way into the commotion, climbing onto the Meatlug and whispering something about their own trick. The pair proceeded to hover mid-air and spin in an extremely tight circle, no sense of direction leading them anywhere. It wasn't long before Fishlegs could be heard groaning, the nausea taking over. Even Snotlout had gotten back on Hookfang, trying to perfect the Flaming Circle of Death.

Astrid took in the disorder in front of her, throwing a helpless look at Stormfly. The Nadder merely squawked and continued to watch the other dragons perform crazy maneuvers, their riders barely in control. _Oh Odin help us._

* * *

The last thing Hiccup had expected as he flew over the Academy was the chaos that was ensuing below. He could barely land without having to dodge one of the haphazardly flying dragons, all seemingly in their own little world. Noticing Astrid stationed near the entrance, he landed just beside her, sliding off and removing his helmet as he absently straightened out the matted hair.

"What is going on?" He asked, bewildered at the scene before him. Meatlug was spinning so fast it was a blur, Hookfang was erratically lighting himself on fire and flying in semicircles, and Barf and Belch were a tangled mess, head wrapped over head as the twins angrily argued over them. Astrid huffed, unsure if she was mad at how late he was or at the teen's idiotic behavior.

"I try to get them to be productive, and _this_ happens!" She explained, angrily gesturing at the turmoil in front of them. Hiccup sighed, making his way as close to the pandemonium as he could before stopping, wearily eyeing the mass of dragons.

"GUYS, STOP." The teens and their dragons paused, surprised at the new sudden voice. Their eyes widened upon noticing Hiccup, all of them settling to the ground. Fishlegs slid off Meatlug, green in the face as he stumbled towards the wall and evened out his breathing.

Hiccup sighed, crossing his arms in a similar manner to how Astrid had done before. "What is going on?" He repeated for a second time, addressing the entire group.

"There's nothing to do! We've been here for the last three days just sitting around like lumps, and it's no fun at all!" Snotlout cried out woefully.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Why not another trick competition? You guys like those, right?" To his confusion, all the teens except for Astrid groaned in unison.

"You two are the exact same, I swear!" Tuffnut complained, rolling his eyes. Hiccup glanced uncertainly at Astrid, not knowing what Tuffnut meant. Astrid merely grinned playfully in response, about to explain when suddenly the doors to the Academy slammed open.

Stoick lumbered in, greeting the teens before getting to business. "The sheep have gotten loose again. I need you all to go gather them back up as soon as you can."

Hiccup nodded, tucking his helmet into Toothless' saddle and clicking his foot in place. The other teens followed suit on their dragons, taking off right after Hiccup did. It wasn't long before they were soaring over the open grass field that the sheep pens were located. The sheep weren't very quick runners, so all were still in clear view, spread out across the field.

"Alright gang, just grab the sheep as quickly as you can and get them back into the pens!" Hiccup directed, the teens nodding in affirmation. Before they could split up, Snotlout piped up once again.

"Bet I can get the most sheep back into the pen before you guys!"

"Not true!" The twins and Fishlegs countered, quickly riled up. Without a second thought, they all dived towards the fleeing sheep, flying as fast as they could to grab and return as many as they could. Hiccup and Astrid settled for following behind at a calmer pace, eyeing the scene amusedly.

"I haven't seen them so competitive about something in a while." Astrid laughed, shaking her head at the rapidly racing dragons, the sheep filling the pens faster than ever.

Hiccup watched them thoughtfully, noting Astrid's words. "You're right…" He mumbled, eyes narrowing the way they usually did when he was forming an idea.

* * *

With the sheep all safely enclosed within the fences, the darkening sky was enough of a warning for the teens to get back home for dinner. However, Hiccup was still too distracted by his thoughts to bother eating as he sat at the table with his dad.

Stoick eyed his son questioningly, watching him simply poke at the meat on his plate with no intention of eating it whatsoever. He was about to speak up and ask what was on his mind when Hiccup beat him to it, finally raising his head and placing his fork down.

"You know dad, I think I have something we can add to the village that'll not only keep the teens busy but it'll be fun for the villagers."

Stoick perked up at the comment. Was Hiccup finally thinking about the village's needs? Maybe he's almost ready to become chief! Nonetheless, he kept his excitement under control as he set his own fork down, directing his full attention towards his son.

Taking the cue, Hiccup continued on, growing more and more animated as he spoke. The idea didn't seem that far-fetched, and Stoick could see it being a good form of entertainment for the village. He jumped on the idea, praising his son for finally taking the initiative for the village.

Hiccup grinned, running his hand through his hair. "Then again, we will need to do some construction before it can actually happen. We can start tomorrow."

Stoick nodded, no longer able to keep the large smile off his face. "Alright, let me know when everything is ready and I'll announce it in the Great Hall to the village."

And with that, Hiccup pushed his chair back and stood up, leaving the barely eaten plate of boar and heading towards his room. He had a lot of planning to do tonight.

* * *

It took a couple of weeks,but with the aid of the dragons, construction was able to be completed a lot quicker. As promised, Stoick began announcing news of the upcoming activity in the Great Hall, the news spreading like wildfire among the villagers. Things had been dull around Berk, and this was finally something that might make things a bit more interesting. So of course, the stands were packed to the last seat with Vikings as they eagerly awaited the start of what would be called the Dragon Race.

The rules were simple: when the signal sounds to begin, participating dragon riders would fly towards the field where all the sheep would be released. The way to win was the get as many sheep as they could and get them into their respective basket to earn points. After the last sheep had been collected, the rider with the most points would win.

The playing field wasn't that much as of now, just a few plainly colored netted baskets and a few rows of seats used as the sidelines for the audience. It was constructed off of one side of the island, stretching over the ocean due to the lack of room on the existing grounds.

Even with the hasty arrangements, both viewers and participants were feeling the excitement coursing through the village. This was probably the second best form of entertainment next to the Thawfest Games, which didn't come often.

The teens were pumped, eagerly stationed at the starting line with their dragons, all shifting restlessly as they waited for the signal. Snotlout was already bragging about how he would be winning the crown once and for all, although no one was listening to him. The twins were too busy fighting over who should be grabbing the sheep and Fishlegs was occupied with whispering encouragements to Meatlug.

Astrid pulled next to Hiccup, exchanging a teasing look with him as she grinned.

"Ready to lose, Dragon Rider?" She asked playfully, already filled with adrenaline.

Hiccup smirked in response, rubbing Toothless' head affectionately. "You wish."

Their teasing was cut short as the warning horn sounded, indicating the race was just about to start. All conversation between the teens gone, they all tensed on their dragons, waiting for the moment the sheep would be released. Even the audience had grown silent, anxiously eyeing both the riders and the Viking that would start the race.

The official horn blasted, the sheep pens opening as the sheep instantly filed out, running onto the open field. Almost instantly, the dragon riders took off as the crowd cheered exuberantly, all caught up in the moment.

Hiccup eyed the others ahead already diving down to grab at one of the fleeing sheep. He wasn't worried though, smiling widely as he leaned down to scratch Toothless behind the ears as he flew closer towards the open field.

"Let's show them what a Night Fury can do, bud." Toothless purred in agreement, tensing as they prepared to fully utilize their unmatched speed. And with that, they dived sharply, the sound of the wind and roaring crowd ringing in his ears.


	6. Love Triangle

**(A/N: Yeah this one's a bit short. I saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and it was such a good movie omg, I really should watch the first one. **

**On the topic of movies, I finally got around to watching Rise of the Guardians. I KNOW I'm so behind but I honestly didn't give it a chance when I saw the cover, but of course that was a mistake cause it's Dreamworks. And Dreamworks is amazing. And that movie was amazing and I am now in the ROTG fandom LOL. Jack Frost and Jamie are the cutest thing ever and I can't believe it didn't make more in the box office.)**

* * *

It didn't take long for Snotlout to realize Astrid was no longer a viable Viking to chase after. That is, unless he wanted to deal with Hiccup. Of course, back in the day he wouldn't have even seen Hiccup as a threat to his love aspirations. But now, he knew he definitely wouldn't win a challenge against the chief's son, especially with his Night Fury. Along with the fact that Astrid made it clear she wasn't interested in him and would beat him to a pulp should he try again.

So he settled for the only other option.

Ruffnut.

Now granted she wasn't the ideal Viking, given her violent and rowdy nature, but the harder he thought about it, he realized that he actually _liked_ her personality. She was hot-headed and daring, like he was.

The only problem was that she wasn't even slightly interested in him.

That didn't stop him from trying though; if Snotlout was anything, he was persistent. Which was why he found himself standing near the entrance to the Academy with an uncomfortably large basket of fish at his feet. Hiccup and Astrid were the first to arrive, giving him a bemused glance as they made their way towards the entrance.

"What's all that fish for? I don't think Hookfang can eat all that." Hiccup quipped amusedly, eyeing the basket nearly bursting at the seams.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Snotlout replied dismissively, still scanning the distance for any sign of the twin. Hiccup shared a quick glance with Astrid, shrugging as they made their way inside, Toothless and Stormfly close behind.

Soon enough, Ruffnut and Tuffnut came sauntering into view, occasionally shoving each other before they came to a stop in front of the Arena entrance, also curiously eyeing the basket of fish.

"What's with all the fish?" Tuffnut asked, ogling the enormous quantity of different fishes.

Snotlout pointedly ignored his comment and put his full attention on Ruffnut, heaving up the basket in front of him towards her.

"This is for you, babe."

Ruffnut blinked once, as if not believing what she'd just heard. She glanced over her shoulder, scanning the empty pathway before turning back towards Snotlout, face scrunched up in confusion.

"Uh, did you just call me 'babe'?" She cried out, bewildered.

Snotlout inched the basket closer towards her, grinning. "It's for Barf. And for you, if you want."

"Hey, why don't I get any fish?" Tuffnut complained, growing slightly disturbed at the sudden affection Snotlout was giving his sister. Snotlout still ignored him, eagerly waiting for Ruffnut's response.

Ruffnut looked completely taken aback, eyeing both him and the basket suspiciously.

"I bet it's poisoned. There's no other explanation." Tuffnut dramatically whispered.

To Snotlout's dismay, Ruffnut looked convinced at her brother's comment, smirking triumphantly.

"Oh, I see what you're doing. You want to poison Barf so that you can win the next Dragon Race! Well, better luck next time!" She chuckled, high-fiving her brother before they both made their way into the Arena without a second glance.

Their Zippleback paused to sniff at the basket as they passed, Barf even going to snatch one of the salmon in his jaws before following their riders.

Snotlout dropped the basket to the ground with a sigh. He eyed the raw fish for a moment, leaving it there as he too entered the Arena. Hookfang was already settled in the corner of the Academy, taking a nap.

He wasn't deterred by the failed attempt, though. He'd gotten plenty of rejections and failures when chasing after Astrid that he knew better than to give up now.

For the rest of the day, Snotlout lazily followed whatever activity Hiccup was having the riders do, more focused on staring at Ruffnut and thinking of another way to gain her affection. It wasn't long before the sun began to set, the riders one by one leaving for their respective homes. And he still hadn't thought of another way to win Ruffnut's heart.

As he shuffled out of the Academy with Hookfang, he stopped when he noticed something odd. Shortly down towards the end of the pathway, Fishlegs was talking to Ruffnut, holding out what appeared to be one of his dragon cards. Usually, he wouldn't have given their interaction a second thought, when his gaze travelled down to the plate at Fishlegs feet. His eyes widened to notice that it was actually a plate of fish.

It didn't take long for him to put two and two together. Judging from the animated way Fishlegs was talking, the perplexed look on Ruffnut's face, and Tuffnut's disturbed expression, he realized with a groan that he had competition.

To his relief, Ruffnut seemingly rejected the offer, leaving Fishlegs standing with his fact card and untouched plate of fish. In a flash, he made his way towards Fishlegs, shooting him his most menacing glare.

"What were you doing?" He demanded, watching Fishlegs immediately stiffen.

"Oh uh, nothing! Just offering her some tips on her dragon, that's all." Fishlegs stammered, clearly avoiding looking him in the eye.

"And offering her some fish?" Snotlout added, watching Fishlegs reflexively push the plate behind him with his foot, trying to hide the evidence.

Snotlout crossed his arms. "I'll let this slide because you didn't know, but I call dibs on her. So you can stop trying now."

Fishlegs' eyes narrowed, glaring at him. "You can't call dibs on a girl like that! Besides, you're just scared because you know she'd obviously choose me over you."

Snotlout snorted, countering with his own glare.

"Oh, it's on."


	7. Paint

**(A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this in a long time - I just got back from a volunteer relief trip to help a city that was hit by a tornado, and it was amazing. Sadly, I got a bad cold the first day of the trip, but the trip was still just as fun :D I feel crummy and this chapter is crummy so I apologize for that.)**

After the first race, dragon racing had become the new village entertainment, new matches announced almost weekly. The thrill of watching their tribe's most skilled dragon riders competing brought a sense of competitiveness and adrenaline to all the Vikings that scrambled to watch the games. The limited number of seats that were quickly constructed for the first race had now expanded well past vast rows of seats enough to compensate for the entire village, allowing them to get a clear view of the new painted goal baskets constructed for each competitor. Each individual rider's basket had a headboard with their respective dragon painted onto it, all with their own distinguishing color.

Entering in what would be their fifth race, Hiccup absently adjusted a strap on his flight suit while he lingered near the gaming arena entrance. Toothless, growing restless at the lack of movement, frequently nudged at his rider to go inside and prepare for the race. But as usual, Hiccup was too focused on his own thoughts and didn't respond. With a huff, the Night Fury plopped onto the ground and waited for an indication that they were going to make their way to the starting line.

Hiccup leaned against the stone wall as he scanned the pathway once more. Astrid always seemed to come a bit late, but he had no idea why. Probably to fly a bit with Stormfly to warm up. Ever since he and Toothless had won the past 5 races, she'd gone off to practice on her own to even out the competition. He didn't mind; he liked her competitive nature and he wouldn't be surprised if she ended up winning sooner or later.

A Nadder's squawk shook him out of his thoughts as his gaze snapped up to find Astrid casually walking up the pathway with Stormfly right at her side. Toothless perked up and instantly went to greet the dragon while Astrid made her way to him with a teasing grin playing on her face.

"Ready to lose today?"

Hiccup smiled and raised an eyebrow, straightening up. "Haven't you said that the past five races?" He chided, laughing when she lightly punched him on the shoulder.

"Today's different. I've been training with Stormfly all day yesterday and we're definitely going to win." Astrid declared, following Hiccup as he started to make his way inside. Their dragons, noticing the riders' departure, immediately followed excitedly, ready for another day of high intensity flying.

The twins and Fishlegs were already by the field where they all took off from, positioned near their dragons. Hiccup was surprised that Snotlout wasn't there yet; he always used to show up first and hype himself up to win the race before everyone else.

"Where's Snotlout?" Hiccup inquired, only receiving blank stares in response.

"Probably off trying to sabotage the race so he can win." Tuffnut replied nonchalantly, examining his nails.

Hiccup exchanged a look with Astrid before making his way towards an open patch of grass from where he'd take off. The buzzing of the crowd could be heard even from where they were, and it filled him with a sense of excitement that he always got before a race started. Toothless was by his side instantly, crooning with anticipation on taking to the skies. His hand reflexively began to scratch the Night Fury's head affectionately as he eyed the clear blue sky eagerly. Another perfect day.

"Everyone ready for some Hookfang to kick your butts?" A familiar voice shot through the brief silence that had fallen among the teens. Hiccup already knew who it was, but as he turned to greet his cousin, he froze, eyes widening in surprise. The other teens had a similar reaction, all gawking silently as Snotlout lumbered over with Hookfang in tow.

Snotlout smirked at their reactions, puffing his chest out proudly. His cheeks, chin, and forehead were striped with red and yellow paint, his Monstrous Nightmare colored in the same paint. It gave off a warrior like and prideful aura that the others couldn't help but admire.

"Woah, what did you do to your face?" Ruffnut blurted out, eyes still wide with fascination.

Snotlout grinned and made his way in front of Ruffnut, flexing his arms. "I did it for you, babe. Do you like it?"

Tuffnut grimaced at sidestepped away from the pair, gagging dramatically. Ruffnut scrunched her face in confusion again, slightly leaning backwards from the young Viking.

Hiccup stifled a laugh, unsure as to why Snotlout was suddenly making advancements on Ruffnut, but didn't make a comment on it. He had a more important question.

"Why the paint?" He spoke up, gaining Snotlout's attention as he lowered his arms and smiled triumphantly.

"Just wanted to get into the spirit of the race. We look cool, right?" He boasted, basking in all the attention he was receiving.

Hiccup couldn't deny that it was a good idea, and he grew more enticed by the idea of paint.

"That's a great idea, Snotlout!"

"I know right! … Wait, really?" The other teens looked just as baffled at the revelation. Snotlout with a good idea? That was rare.

The idea grew in Hiccup's head as he nodded animatedly, gesturing wildly with his hands.

"Yeah! We should paint ourselves and our dragons for the races, like Snotlout did! It makes things more interesting and gets us into the racing spirit!"

The others nodded thoughtfully, eyeing Snotlout as if he was a new species.

"Okay, but that doesn't change the fact that Hookfang and I are going to kick your butts." Snotlout retorted, trying to make his original intention clear.

"Oh really now. How exactly are you going to beat a Night Fury's speed or a Deadly Nadder?" Astrid challenged, crossing her arms.

"Hey, we're here too you know!" Fishlegs piped up, the twins noisily agreeing.

"This paint is what will win me the race! Also you can't forget that Hookfang is strong and can beat all you guys in the blink of an eye." Snotlout began to ramble, so immersed in his mini speech of how he'd win that he didn't near the warning signal that the race was about to start.

Hiccup smiled wryly, inching his way towards Toothless' saddle until he could smoothly hop on and open the tailfin. The other teens, realizing that Snotlout was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice, were also slowly climbing onto their dragons. He grinned at Astrid before nodding, and at the sound of the starting horn, took off swiftly, the other riders close behind. All except for Snotlout that is.

Snotlout yelped at the sudden takeoffs, coughing at the dust that had been disturbed in their wake.

"Hey, not fair!" He yelled angrily, jumping onto Hookfang's neck to join the others.

Hiccup was still the first to lead the pack, quickly diving low towards the ground to intercept one of the target sheep that was timidly making its way across a nearby field. Grabbing the sheep was easy enough, but the way Toothless suddenly tensed sent the warning that something else was coming.

Instinctively, Hiccup pulled Toothless into a barrel roll and felt Astrid and Stormfly rippling the air above them. He settled back upwards and grinned as Astrid pulled around to try again with a determined look.

"Let's show them a few of our own tricks, bud." Hiccup whispered, clutching the sheep as they flew past the roaring crowd. Toothless growled in agreement, flexing his wings fully as he pulled into a sharp turn towards the goal baskets. In one fluid motion, Hiccup flew upside down over his basket and dumped the sheep inside, being the first to score yet again.

"That's my son!" Stoick's voice could be heard booming from where he sat at the chief's chair, getting the best view of the game. Hiccup grinned and circled around towards the other teen's as they scanned for the other sheep.

"Nice try, Astrid!" He called out teasingly, sharing a smile with her.

"Oh don't worry, you haven't seen what we could do yet." Astrid called back, switching between staring at him and scanning the ground for more targets.

"My paint is winning me this game!" Snotlout repeated stubbornly, flying lower than the others to have a better chance of reaching the sheep first.

Hiccup chuckled, watching his cousin amusedly as he caught the wool of another sheep scampering behind a nearby house from the corner of his eye.

"Alright Snotlout, show me what you got!" Hiccup called as he dove down, rapidly narrowing the distance between him and the new target sheep.

Needless to say, Snotlout didn't win the game. But he did help start a whole new Viking trend when it came to dragon racing. All because of some paint.


End file.
